No Charles Shaw here (hopefully)

Finally got to see the new & improved Blum & Poe gallery; I was in New York during their opening weekend. Yes, it's a gorgeous space, and by space I mean cavernous, humongous, ginormous and all the other words that fit in that huge category. I don't know the square-footage (I'm not going to refer to their press release), but it just might be the largest gallery in Los Angeles now. I think Ace gallery held that title previously.

I understand the need for storage—which probably is half of their building, but I don't understand the need for two kitchens, unless some of the staff are required to cook for Jeff and Tim now. Apparently, one kitchen is for the "caterers." That's pretty fancy stuff. But, can't the caterers' kitchen be used by the staff when the caterers aren't there? Or are they part of the staff now? Honestly, doesn't that sound a bit excessive?

They also have a outside area designed for entertaining and elaborate dinners--that's when the caterers apparently come in to play. No more taco trucks for Blum & Poe. Of course, the tacos and Tecate were always for the hoi polloi, and we didn't mind that, really. At least they never served Charles Shaw--for that, we are thankful. So, maybe there will still be tacos and beer for us common folk.

But, in the end--the gallery looks great. It's beautifully designed. All the work looks stunning. It's a bit ostentatious, but I've never complained about an over-the-top venue for showing art. I guess, in the end, it's the two kitchens that bugged me.

Now on to the rest of the night. Bor-ring! I loved Samantha Fields new "fire" paintings though. There were multiple small paintings on maybe six by six inch canvasses, rows of three or four, covering three walls. She's concentrating on the fires themselves (not the surrounding landscapes of the disasters, like smoky skies against the horizons). It's really a California show, and Field's stories of hanging out with fire-chasers is a bonus to her experience. Check out the show, the paintings are irresistible.

And, check out the new Artillery. I love this issue, but I love all the issues. There's some good stuff--the lead story is about art in domestic settings, in other words, homes or spaces that people live in as well. Anne Martens is the writer, and we had to settle on spaces that double as living environs, which narrowed our selection of venues. It's a great story, and I talk about the history of such places in my editor's letter. Lots of subsequent dialogue has taken place, with a lot of nostalgia for the times of some great art that was spawned back in the day. Perhaps those days are happening again.